Auston Matthews had no interest in pretending the call made sense after the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday night.
After the game, Matthews took aim at the officials for a delay of game penalty that came after he was ruled to have covered the puck with his hand off the face-off. He made it clear he felt the referees needed to be certain before making that kind of call.
“I think you got to be sure 100%. I fall.
I don't even know what exactly the rule is, if you have to cover it or whatever, but I got a lot of respect for refs ... They're not perfect but, in that situation, I feel like you really gotta be sure.”
The penalty became one of the more talked-about moments in a choppy night that saw 32 penalty minutes handed out, with only 10 of those coming from a fight. The Leafs’ four-game win streak ended in the process, and Kirill Marchenko also left the game and did not return.
From Toronto’s side, the Matthews call stood out because it came at a point when the game still felt within reach. Calgary had already gone to the box for holding, and the extra penalty helped shut down the Leafs’ chance to build any comeback momentum.
Still, the rule book backs up the officials. Under the NHL’s face-off violation rule, neither center can bat or play the puck with a hand until a third player touches it. That results in an immediate two-minute minor for delay of game without a warning.
By that standard, the referees got it right: Matthews was the only player to make contact as the puck dropped, and no one else touched it until after he had pushed it out of the circle.
So while Matthews had every reason to be annoyed, the call itself held up. The Leafs didn’t lose solely because of it, and Calgary finished the job later on anyway. But the penalty did take away a chance for Toronto and its captain to press for a comeback, and that was clearly where the frustration came from.
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